Focus is on better services, not dress code, says minister

 

Dzulkefly Ahmad said the triaging process at emergency departments also needs to be improved.

PETALING JAYA: Health minister Dzulkefly Ahmad says his focus is on ensuring better healthcare services and not the public’s compliance with dress codes at hospitals.

In a post on X (formerly known as Twitter), Dzulkefly, who took over as health minister on Tuesday said the triaging process at the emergency departments in all government healthcare facilities also needs to be improved.

“(There is a need) to treat or triage patients based on the severity of illnesses rather than (focus on) a patient’s dressing,” he replied to a social media user who asked for his views on dress codes at government hospitals.

“An incident like the recent death of a patient at the Sungai Petani Hospital five hours after waiting for triaging should not happen again.”

Dzulkefly was referring to the death of a 51-year-old man who died after he allegedly did not get the appropriate treatment at the Sultan Abdul Halim Hospital in Sungai Petani, Kedah.

The health ministry is probing the incident.

The issue of dress codes at hospitals has come under the spotlight again after a 72-year-old man claimed he was refused entry to the Seberang Jaya Hospital in Penang for wearing shorts.

That incident on Monday led to an outcry on social media, and the Penang government has since given an assurance that people will not be prevented from entering healthcare facilities because of their attire.

In March, a visitor to the Tengku Ampuan Afzan Hospital in Kuantan got into a dispute with a security guard over the dress code. The woman was also denied entry to the hospital for wearing shorts. - FMT